Audra McDonald awes Chapel Hill audience

CHAPEL HILL — Audra McDonald enthralled the audience with her powerful voice and captivating stage presence during her concert Saturday night at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall. McDonald is renowned for her work on Broadway, on TV and her concerts, and has culminated a record-breaking number of Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards for her work. She was joined by Brian Hertz (piano); Gene Lewin (drums); and Mark Vanderpoel (bass) in a 90-minute performance. She sang a collection of Broadway pieces from the great American songbook, and some from lesser-known composers. The audience was made up of a range of age groups, although all clearly huge fans of McDonald, as evidenced by their constant enthusiasm and excited applause. Of course, the concert can’t be discussed without mentioning her indescribable voice — she even sang one song with no microphone. Her voice carries like no other.
Proudly talking about her children, she expressed her hope for the current generation of young people. She had a clear message of kindness and hope and wanted to promote the belief that we all should be working together to move forward.
If ever you have the opportunity to see Audra McDonald in concert, you should. It will be well-worth your time to listen to this incredibly talented performer.

Elspeth Macnab-Stark is a high school graduate and a Teens & 20s writer.